• Livelihood: The majority lives in the southern parts of the country and is dependent on the environment for their livelihoods (herding, farming and fishing).

• Political background: After a military coup in 1991, ending three decades of authoritarian rule, Mali started its transition to multi-party democracy with elections in 1992. The government is headed by President Amadou Toumani Touré, commonly called ATT, who was re-elected to a second five-year-term in 2007.

• Economy: Per capita GDP: 680 USD (2009). The country is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export, along with gold.

• Poverty level: Half of Mali’s population lives below the poverty line: less than a dollar a day (57.6 per cent in rural areas and 25.50 per cent in urban areas).

• Life expectancy at birth: 65.5 years

• Under-five mortality: 191 children die out of every 1,000 live births

• Infant mortality rate: 96 infants die out of every 1,000 live births

• Life time risk of maternal death: 1 in 15

• HIV prevalence among young people (15-24 years): 1.3 per cent (0. 9 per cent among women and 0, 5 per cent among men)